Playbill has some awesome high quality photos of Dancing With The Stars Karina Smirnoff, Sharna Burgess, Val and Maksim Chmerkovksiy from the Westbury, New York Ballroom With A Twist show. 55 shots in all. You can see some backstage pics as well. Be sure to check them out if interested.

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Just a music and dancing fan here ....and a lover of life, nature, animals, and spending as much time as possible camping in our travel trailer. Favorite Quote at the moment: "Sing like no one is listening. Love like you've never been hurt. Dance like nobody's watching, and live like it's heaven on earth." ~ William Purkey. Follow me at: Voguerista Twitter & Voguerista Soundcloud. To view my photography site, see Lisa Kay Photography.

Val Chmerkovskiy was interviewed by Gossip Cop about Dancing With The Stars. Below he talks of what he says to each of his partners when they first meet. He also talks on being a sex symbol and thanks his fans. This gets me so excited for the new season. You can read even more at the link. Thanks to @DWTSgossip for the find.

When the next season of “Dancing with the Stars” begins, Val Chmerkovskiy knows exactly what he’ll tell his new celebrity contestant.

Chmerkovskiy reveals to Gossip Cop, “I tell all my partners when we first meet, ‘Listen, this is like an arranged marriage. You are my everything for the next three months and vice versa.’”

It’s that dedication that has led the dancer to the show’s finals twice, and he tells us that coming so close to the Mirror Ball trophy but just not close enough can be a hard pill to swallow.

“It’s tough because you’re emotionally invested every single time,” shares Chmerkovskiy. “You build a certain relationship every single time.”

He continues, “But it’s always very exciting to meet a new person [the next season] and to start a new journey.”

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Just a music and dancing fan here ....and a lover of life, nature, animals, and spending as much time as possible camping in our travel trailer. Favorite Quote at the moment: "Sing like no one is listening. Love like you've never been hurt. Dance like nobody's watching, and live like it's heaven on earth." ~ William Purkey. Follow me at: Voguerista Twitter & Voguerista Soundcloud. To view my photography site, see Lisa Kay Photography.

It’s a big week for Derek Hough. His new book “Taking The Lead: Lessons from a Life in Motion” is hitting book shelves everywhere. He talked with USA Today all about it and his “leading lessons”. Below is a take and a video. Interesting for what Derek said on Maks. I guess the shippers are really going to be disappointed now. I also love what he said about “live with passion” in the video too. Excellent interview. Be sure to read more at the link.

Leading lesson: Power over others is weakness in disguise.

Fellow Dancing With the Stars pro Maksim Chmerkovskiy, known as the bad boy of the ballroom, is really insecure. Hough says Maks and his Olympic skater partner Meryl Davis were never dating, despite their closeness on the show. “No,” he says, explaining that the show created a story line for them: Meryl became the coach, Maks became the student. “I’ve always known this,” says Hough, “but (Maks) is incredibly insecure. He’s not confident in what he does as much as he puts it out. So he overcompensates. If you think about it, that’s why people lash out, get angry or frustrated – is out of fear. If you’re very confident in who you are, you wouldn’t have reason to lash out.”

Leading lesson: Surround yourself with positive influences.

Derek says his parents’ split was “an absolute pivotal moment for me. … It was kind of a big deal to us, on top of it already being a big deal because of the (Mormon) community. … For a short period of time I went off and was skipping school and getting into trouble. And doing the stereotypical child acting-out type of thing.”

So he (and sister Julianne) moved to England to live with dance pros Shirley and Corky Ballas, parents of Derek’s fellow DWTS pro and best friend, Mark Ballas. “We were still kids and getting in trouble. We didn’t do any drugs. We would drink and sneak. I wouldn’t say we’d steal things – we might nick things.”

And it was Shirley who reigned them in. “We had a very strong sense of where we were going and goals. Shirley was there driving us every single day and making sure we were going to practice, and she was at practice with us. She is an incredible woman who kept us on a straight and narrow path.”

ETA: You can also read another article at USA Today with Derek at THIS LINK!! Below Derek talks of whether he’s returning to Dancing With The Stars. Thanks to Cathy for the heads up.

“I don’t know,” he says. “We have a new executive producer. I know they want to do a bunch of different things. I’m in that place again where it’s all about progress. What’s the next thing?”

So he is thinking of leaving? “I don’t necessarily mean after Dancing With the Stars, but within the show.”

His sister, DWTS alum Julianne Hough, says, “We keep talking about it. I think he wants to be not just challenged, but inspired, to go to work every day. … He wants to feel like there’s a greater purpose than just a dance competition. He’s always trying to find something that inspires him creatively.”

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Just a music and dancing fan here ....and a lover of life, nature, animals, and spending as much time as possible camping in our travel trailer. Favorite Quote at the moment: "Sing like no one is listening. Love like you've never been hurt. Dance like nobody's watching, and live like it's heaven on earth." ~ William Purkey. Follow me at: Voguerista Twitter & Voguerista Soundcloud. To view my photography site, see Lisa Kay Photography.